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Traveling to and From Rostushe
From Skopje there is a direct combi (Balkan Tours,
driver’s name Jevat 070-345-247) that leaves Monday through Friday from the old bus station at 2:30
but seating is limited so it is best to arrive early.
Also From Skopje you can take one of the buses
from the bus station that is going to Debar, the last
one leaves at 4:30 again seating is limited so arrive
early. When purchasing the ticket there will not be
the option for Rostushe, so ask for a ticket to Mavrovo, then once you are on the bus inform the driver
you need to get out at Rostushe. The Debar buses
will let you out at the bottom of the hill from Rostushe. This should be
about 30 minutes after
you pass Mavrovo and
you may want to remind the driver again
as you get close.
From Gostivar there
are 2 combies a day
that go directly to
Rostushe (Balkan
Tours, driver Allen
070-251-438) one at
1:00 and one at 5:00
in the winter and 6:00
in the summer.
Leaving Rostushe,
Monday through Friday there is a combi that leaves at 7am for Skopje
and Sunday at 3pm there is a combi to Skopje.
Monday through Saturday there are combis that
leave for Gostivar at 7am,8am, around 12:00 and
one at 3pm.
Where to go once you arrive in Rostushe? The
waterfall is easy to find, as you enter Rostushe there
will be a cemetery on the left, just above the cemetery is a sign that marks the beginning of the trail.
If you miss the trail for some reason just ask the
first person you see and they will direct you to the
start of the trail.
The trails to the churches are a little trickier. From
Rostushe you can walk or take a taxi to Bitushe,
there is one very beautiful church in Bitushe worth
seeing then continue on the main road through Bitushe. This will continue to go straight up for a couple of kilometers to an old military base, with a
beautiful soccer field across from it. This area is
called “Karaula” and if you were planning on camping this would be the place, a taxi can be taken to
this point from Rostushe for about 150 denari and
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would save an hour of walking. From the road,
facing the field the trail starts in the far right
corner (sw corner) and heads straight toward the
mountain. The trail has been somewhat marked
with green circles on a few trees along it however they can be sparse. The trail will switch
back and forth up the mountain until you find
yourself very close to the cliff face. At this
point it will go across a meadow and should find
a cheshma and begin veering more left and up.
You will reach one more very large meadow in
which the trail will continue through, stay on the
left side and follow it several hundred meters
until you find where
the trail leave the
meadow. Continue
following the trail
up until it leaves the
trees and it will continue to the left
where you will find
the first church.
From here if you go
straight up you
should be able to
find the church on
the border. Every
August there is a
holiday that is celebrated at this church
in which hundreds of people make the journey
to the top of the mountain, as for the rest of the
year the mountain is void of people.
If the lake is your destination then you can walk
to take a taxi from Rostushe to Trebishte. Once
in Trebishte you will take a left on the first and
largest “road” that goes up the mountain. Along
this road you should see signs for the lake. The
road will gradually shrink to a trail and should
be well marked the whole way up, with red and
white bulls eyes.
Other useful contacts in Rostushe: If you ever
have any problem you can contact these people
and I know they would help you in anyway they
can.
Almadina Mehmedi 070-586-608 or always can
be found in the first prodav on the right in Rostushe.
Hamlet 070-241-806 or can be found at the only
kabab restaurant in Rostushe. (knows English)